sedimentary
Petrified Wood
Silicified wood (SiO2)
AI-generated identification · may be incorrectHardness of 7 on the Mohs scale; displays wood grain patterns in browns, blacks, and whites with a vitreous to waxy luster.
Identified More sedimentary →
Explore Petrified Wood in the encyclopedia →Identify your own rocks.
Get a report just like this from any photo, free.
Physical properties
Hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale; displays wood grain patterns in browns, blacks, and whites with a vitreous to waxy luster.
Formation & geological history
Formed through permineralization when buried organic wood is slowly replaced by silica-rich groundwater over millions of years.
Uses & applications
Used for ornamental carvings, decorative lapidary objects, and collector display specimens.
Geological facts
Petrified wood can retain microscopic cellular structures of the original ancient trees, dating back hundreds of millions of years.
Field identification & locations
Identified by maintaining the distinct texture and growth rings of wood while possessing the extreme hardness and weight of quartz.
More like this
Other sedimentary specimens
Fossil-bearing concretion, possibly containing a fossil shell or other organic inclusion
Calcareous concretion; exact fossil and host-rock composition are not identifiable from the image
fossil
Sandstone or Siltstone
Arenite (if sandstone)
Sedimentary
Fossiliferous Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary limestone with invertebrate fossil imprint
fossil
Sandstone
Arenite
sedimentary
Shale
Shale (clastic sedimentary rock)
sedimentary
Shale (or Mudstone/Siltstone)
Sedimentary Mudrock (SiO2, Al2O3 base with clay minerals)
sedimentary